Judge threatens ICE with contempt, sanctions in Minnesota re-arrest case
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Quick Read
Around noon on Oct. 19, Milton Saltos Velasquez was told he was being released from immigration detention per a judge’s order. He said he didn’t manage to get a foot outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building before he was immediately re-arrested.
Saltos told MPR News his worst fear had come true. He said other immigrants being held with him in county jail had warned him ICE was instantly re-arresting people this way.
Saltos was handcuffed and processed again. Then he was loaded into a vehicle, with other men he said had also been re-arrested, to drive the roughly two hours to Kandiyohi County Jail, which contracts with ICE.
They were well on their way to the jail when Saltos said a message came over the agents’ radio telling them to turn around.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
One of the men was to be released again.
Saltos is one of seven instant re-arrest cases confirmed by MPR News, though immigration lawyers suspect there are more cases. ICE officials previously told an immigration attorney that their lawyers identify good candidates for re-arrest — usually people who were arrested without warrants or probable cause in the first place.
This tactic comes as the grounds for immigrants to challenge their detentions have gotten narrower. In March, an appeals court sided with the Trump administration's novel and controversial policy of holding immigrants in detention instead of giving them bond hearings.
‘I couldn’t stop crying’
Saltos, 45, has a pending asylum application. In 2023 an asylum officer in Texas wrote that Saltos “demonstrated credible fear of persecution or torture,” according to court records. Saltos told MPR News he escaped gangs in his home country of Ecuador after they attacked him and killed his brother. He said his children and the rest of his family are still in Ecuador. He oversees the treatment of his comatose father remotely, checking on him over video calls.
Saltos was arrested by ICE agents as he arrived at work on Oct. 6 and was held in detention in Freeborn County Jail in Albert Lea.
Speaking to an MPR News reporter in Spanish, Saltos said the worst part of being in detention was not being able to help care for his family.
“Pues me desesperaba porque yo quería ver a mi padre, quería verlo, quería estar pendiente,” Saltos said.
“I was getting desperate because I wanted to see my father, I wanted to be there for him.”
Saltos’ lawyer immediately alerted the judge presiding over the case, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan, to the re-arrest.
In an order, Bryan wrote ICE “failed to release” Saltos “thereby violating” his release order. He wrote ICE must release Saltos “immediately,” or the government could face sanctions.
The agents bringing Saltos to Kandiyohi County Jail were forced to turn around.
Saltos said when he realized he would truly be released, he cried the rest of the evening.
“No paraba de poder llorar a la vez de emoción, a la vez alegría, a la vez tristeza,” Saltos said.
“I couldn’t stop crying from the emotion, joy and sadness at the same time.”
Bryan, who was nominated by former President Joe Biden, has condemned ICE’s instant re-arrest strategy before.
When another man was instantly re-arrested on Sept. 9, Bryan ordered his release for a second time, writing that if such a re-arrest legally constitutes release, that “would render habeas relief meaningless.”
Saltos’ lawyer, Sherene Mostaghimi, said she was happy her client’s case was assigned to Bryan and she’s glad Saltos is home safe.
But she said these re-arrests are emblematic of the expensive, sometimes seemingly endless legal cycle immigrants are getting stuck in.
“It's pretty abusive of the system,” Mostaghimi said. “It's just wasting people's time.”
She said ICE didn’t provide a good reason for her client’s re-arrest other than claiming they had followed the release order when they first released him around noon.
“It’s just so ludicrous that to me, the government thinks they can get away with doing whatever they want,” Mostaghimi said.
Pending rulings
Other federal judges have been slower to take a position on the tactic, including Chief U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud, a President Donald Trump nominee.
Tostrud is currently presiding over at least two instant re-arrest cases. Both men were re-arrested more than a month ago and are still in ICE custody.
Tostrud has ruled against the federal government in some cases involving ICE in the past year.
In February, he held the government in contempt for moving a detainee to Texas after he ordered ICE to keep him in Minnesota. This summer, Tostrud threw out the Department of Justice’s lawsuits against the state of Minnesota and local jurisdictions that sought to overturn their policies limiting cooperation with ICE.
However, it’s unclear how Tostrud will rule in the re-arrest cases.
Tostrud is presiding over the case of one of the first men MPR News spoke to when these re-arrests came to light.
“At least in Alejandro’s case, I think additional briefing and the production of evidence can make for a good decision,” his lawyer Daniel Suitor said.
Suitor said it makes sense that judges would take time to analyze the legality of these re-arrests because they don’t have appellate guidance to follow on the definition of “release” in habeas cases.
In an Oct. 1 order, Tostrud denied the other man’s request for an expedited decision and wrote “perhaps” the re-arrest had violated his order, but he needed more information to decide one way or another.
Attorney Stacey Rogers represents the detained man in that case and was taken aback by Tostrud’s “perhaps.”
“It really surprised me because I think as a judge, if you make a decision, you want that decision to be upheld and respected. So, at what point are we okay with that not being upheld or respected?” Rogers said.
Rogers said she fears these re-arrests could set a dangerous precedent for law enforcement because many of these cases hinge on warrantless arrests and due process violations. Due process means persons in the country, not just citizens, generally have the constitutional right to be told why they’re being detained and to have a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker.
“If we start to allow the Constitution to slip in one area, it's going to be very easy for the Constitution to slip in other law enforcement arrests,” Rogers said.
“The concern should be broader than just immigration.”
